


The Lizard Woman

by ami_ven



Series: The Dawn of Time [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-15 12:51:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2229672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ami_ven/pseuds/ami_ven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jenny needs a job, and Madame Vastra needs a maid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lizard Woman

Jenny was _not_ going back to the work house. It was a horrible, dreary place and now it was her incentive to find a position— _any_ position— that would keep her out of it.

She stopped at the post office, to look at the advertisements for servants in the large window. There were so few of them, mostly calling for scullery maids or washer women. Jenny’s mother had been a house maid, maybe not the most noble calling, but she had her dignity, and Jenny hated the thought of taking anything lower. But she would, if it meant employment.

Then, Jenny saw one sign, off in the corner, which offered a position for a female house maid in a firm woman’s hand. Below was an address in one of London’s more prominent streets and a starting salary that was fair but more than was typical. But the sign was worn and faded, as though it had hung in the window for quite a long time.

Why had no one taken such a good job?

Jenny pushed open the door and stepped into the post office. “Excuse me,” she said, to the postman’s secretary. “That sign in the window, the position at Paternoster Row? Do you know anything about it?”

“Oh, that poor woman,” said the secretary, clearly eager for someone to gossip with. “Madame Vastra, that’s the lady offering the job, she’s got a terrible skin condition. Lives all by herself in that great big house, with none for company, except on occasion, those gentlemen from Scotland Yard. Hardly proper visitors for a woman of her standing, but it’s not my place to judge. Still, she’s a kind lady, for all that she’s hardly seen.”

“Then why has no one taken the job?” asked Jenny.

“Well,” the secretary hedged. “I’ve no proof, mind. But the girls who’ve gone to inquire… they’re in a right state when they come back, poor dears. And poor lady, too, of course.”

She smiled, sympathetically. “Won’t you consider one of the other positions, dear? They’ll suit you much better, I’m sure.”

“Thank you,” said Jenny.

Outside the post office, she paused, then turned and began walking toward Paternoster Row. She went to the back door, the servants’ entrance, and rang the bell. After a long moment, the door was opened by a tall, slender figure, veiled in heavy black lace. 

“Am I addressing Madame Vastra?” Jenny asked, hesitant, taking in the intricate details of the lady’s dark gown.

“You are,” said the woman, in the most beautiful, musical voice Jenny had ever heard. “What is your business here?”

“My name is Jenny Flint, miss. I’ve come to inquire about the housemaid position.”

“Simply inquiring? Or are you here to offer an application?”

“I’d like to apply, miss, if you please.”

“I do,” said the veiled woman, Madame Vastra. “I am in great need of a new maid, if only so I no longer have to answer my own door.”

“I’m very good at answering doors, miss,” said Jenny, smiling.

She couldn’t see Madame Vastra’s face, but she thought she could hear a smile in her lovely voice as she said, “Indeed? Well then, come with me.”

Jenny followed her into a large kitchen, neat and clean but oddly unused, then up a narrow flight of stairs to a beautiful parlor. There were living plants in clay pots on every available surface, tables and stands and even the floor. Jenny couldn’t have named a single variety, but they smelled earthy and green and alive, and she liked them immediately.

“Sit,” Madame Vastra commanded, and Jenny sank, as gracefully as she could, into the straight-backed wooden chair. The other woman settled herself, much more gracefully, into a plush armchair and continued, “I have quite a number of plants throughout the house. Were you to take this position, you would be responsible for their care. I can provide written instructions for each— You _can_ read, can you not?”

“I can, miss,” Jenny said, proudly.

“Excellent,” said Madame Vastra. “We shall begin with the basics, then. Can you cook?”

“Yes, miss,” Jenny said, again.

“Can you clean, or sew? Do sums, manage money?”

“Yes, miss.”

“You would be the sole servant for this entire house,” said Madame Vastra. “Anything that I required would be your responsibility. Can you do that?”

“Yes, miss,” said Jenny. “I’m sure I can.”

“Confidence. A useful trait for a mammal.”

Jenny frowned. She hadn’t much schooling, hardly any, but she thought ‘mammal’ was a word for little furry creatures. “If you say, miss.”

“I do. And now for one last thing, Miss Flint, which until now has been the end of any employment interviews I have conducted. I appear to be somewhat more independent than other females of this time, but as maid of this house, I will on occasion, require your assistance to dress.”

“I understand, miss,” said Jenny, although she wasn’t sure that the entirely did. “Are there creams, or such? I’ve no training in any medicine, but I could learn.”

“To what are you referring?” asked Madame Vastra, mildly.

Jenny flushed. “Begging your pardon, miss. I don’t mean to believe any gossip, but I… I heard tell that you were sufferin’ a condition, and thought that I could help.”

“A condition,” the other woman repeated. “Not entirely false, and yet not true, either.”

Madame Vastra rose, and Jenny scrambled to her feet. “Miss?”

“Please do not scream,” she said, reaching for the edge of her thick veil. “I find it very tiresome.”

In one smooth motion, Madame Vastra removed her hat and veil.

“Oh,” Jenny breathed, and took a step toward her, hand rising as though to touch.

“Miss Flint!” the other woman said, surprised.

Jenny realized what she’d been about to do and took two steps back, hands in tight fists at her sides, eyes on the floor. “I’m sorry, miss! I didn’t mean—”

“I am not angry,” said Madame Vastra. “Provided you answer me honestly. Why did you step toward me?”

“I—” Jenny began, trying to find the right words. 

She had been expecting the veil to hide a disfigurement— scars or burns, perhaps, or lesions on the skin, something painful-looking and probably painful to look at. Instead, the lady had smooth skin, ridged like scales and so vibrant a green that it made the plants around her seem dull. She had no hair, but larger ridges or maybe short horns, curving toward the back of her head. She was like nothing else on Earth, and the loveliest thing Jenny had ever seen.

“Begging your pardon, miss,” Jenny said. “Because I’d heard… not that I really believed, but… I just didn’t expect you to be so beautiful, miss!”

Madame Vastra blinked. “Beautiful? I have been awake in this century for only a few months, granted, but no human has ever thought to call me that.”

“I’m sorry, miss,” said Jenny.

The other woman sank back into her chair, and waved for Jenny to do the same.

“I am a Silurian,” Madame Vastra said, bluntly. “A race that evolved on this planet long before the apes— forgive me, I meant you humans. I am what humans generally call a ‘lizard woman’. And you still have no urge to scream?”

“No, miss,” said Jenny, surprised.

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Then, Madame Vastra smiled. “The job is yours, Miss Flint. When can you begin?”

Jenny smiled back. “Right now, if you like, miss.”

“That will not be necessary. Take tonight to settle any other arrangements, and return here early tomorrow morning.

Jenny stood and bobbed into a curtsy. “Thank you, miss. You won’t be disappointed.”

“I’m sure I won’t,” Madame Vastra agreed. “Would you see yourself out?”

“Yes, miss. Thank you again.”

Jenny curtsied again, and turned to leave. She had almost reached the door when her new employer said, “Jenny?”

“Yes, miss?” she said, with a little shiver of pleasure at hearing her Christian name in that beautiful voice.

“Sleep well.”

“Yes, miss. You, too.”

THE END


End file.
